According to Calciomercato, Eric Bailly could assess his future at Manchester United following a disappointing couple of years at Old Trafford. The centre-back reportedly wants to become an important asset to the club’s plans but might have to reconsider his options if his lack of game-time under Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer continues.
Eric Bailly’s Frustrating Spell At Man United
Following a relatively pleasing debut campaign at Old Trafford, Eric Bailly has been one of the unluckiest players in the Premier League over the past two-three years. His progress at the club has been marred by a series of injuries, including an ankle surgery in 2017 that kept him out on the sidelines for over three months.
It was followed by a knee surgery last year, keeping him out on for more than five months. As a result, the Ivorian international has failed to even surpass the 1,000-minute mark in league football in any of his past three seasons.
Bailly’s injury problems have allowed Victor Lindelof to emerge ahead in the pecking order while the club were also forced to sign Harry Maguire to add more steel in central defence.
Does Bailly Have A Future At The Club?
Despite the addition of Maguire, however, the Manchester United defence has appeared quite inconsistent, especially in the ongoing campaign. The likes of Lindelof and Maguire have both failed to provide solidity at the back, causing the team to experience an underwhelming start to the season.
For Bailly, he has featured in only two Premier League matches so far. He is yet to play in the UEFA Champions League, where the emergence of Axel Tuanzebe means that the 26-year-old is facing an uncertain future at the club.
For Manchester United, however, Bailly is not a fringe player, and as the January transfer window approaches, we can expect the Red Devils to offload the fringe players like Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones. It could bode well for the Ivorian, though he will still have to compete with the defensive trifecta of Lindelof, Maguire and Tuanzebe.
Should Ole Cash In On Him In January?
As mentioned earlier, offloading Jones and Rojo should be a priority for Manchester United and provided these moves do go through; it wouldn’t be wise from Solskjaer’s part to cash in on Bailly.
The hectic nature of the 2020/21 campaign has already caused a lot of injuries to players across Europe this campaign, so the presence of players like Bailly and Tuanzebe serve as key alternatives.
Besides, both these players are expected to play a key role in Ole’s rotation policy. However, it goes without saying a move away from Old Trafford would make sense for Bailly next season if he continues to trail Lindelof in the pecking order.
